San Francisco Things-To-Do Bucket List for Short Stays
San Francisco Bucket List: 5 Best Things To Do on a Short Visit
If you are planning to visit San Francisco, but you do not have much time to see it everything, there is still hope that you are going to have the best vacation ever. You do not need to visit all the things a tourist might have on their San Francisco bucket list to see the beauty of this iconic city. Here’s our guide to the top things to do on a short visit to San Francisco.
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With its mild Mediterranean climate, typical for California’s coast with mild winters and arid summers, San Francisco is a beautiful city to explore. Sometimes there can be a significant weather difference in each part of San Francisco because the city can have different temperate zones depending on which region you are in. But even if it is a sunny day, it is advised to always have a jacket with you no matter what season because you will never know when you would need it. When the famous fog rolls in it can turn from warm and sunny to chilly very quickly.
If you are not staying in this fascinating city for long, but you still want to experience everything the city has to offer, then this San Francisco bucket list guide will provide you with all the places you definitely must visit on your short stay.
Golden Gate Bridge
The first thing you need to see in San Francisco is obviously the Golden Gate Bridge. To get to the bridge, you can take an Uber, which will probably cost you from $5-8, or if you are staying in the Marina, you can also take the 28 bus. One thing to look out for is to ask the bus driver if the bus is heading towards the bridge because there had been many tourists going in the wrong way by mistake.
The best time of the day to visit the bridge would definitely be in the morning because first of all there is free parking until 8 am so if you are driving to the city you should probably visit the bridge before you actually have to pay to park your car. Speaking of parking in San Francisco, it is a very touchy topic because the city is so hilly, parking on a hill is something that you have to master.
The second reason why visiting it in the morning is that the bridge gets very crowded the day so you won’t be able to enjoy the view or your stay. If you want, you can take a walk across the bridge And experience it in its full glory.
Eat at the Ferry Building
The Ferry Building is stunning and massive. It opened up in 1898, and it became one of the most significant SF projects at that time. On top of the building is a 245 feet tall Clock tower, which can be seen all the way from Market Street. But what is impressive about the building is its huge choice of different food. You can eat oysters, or bagels with hand batted cream cheese, or you can try delicious burgers and milkshake, or drink whiskey cocktails and try unusual ice cream flavors.
The best thing about San Francisco is that it’s filled with people from different cultures all around the world .so you can try different traditional cuisines from China or Vietnam or Mexico any day you like.
Visit the Golden Gate Park
Do you know that the Golden Gate Park is actually bigger than Central Park? With around 24 million visitors every year, Golden Gate Park is the third most visited park in the United States just after Central Park in Lincoln Memorial.
There are many things to see in the park, for example, De Young museum Which features American modern and African art textiles and sculptures as well as special exhibitions around the year. Or you can visit the Academy of Sciences, which is one of the ten largest Natural History museums in the world, and it is home too about 18,000,000 scientific specimens between the research and public exhibits. It also has about 2.5 acres of almost 1.7 million native California plants.
One thing you should not miss is the Japanese tea garden. It’s located opposite the De Young museum, and it is said that this garden is the origin of all the fortune cookies in America. The Golden Gate park’s tea garden has a variety of plants, including dwarf trees, bamboo, and azaleas. Many call it a place where it is possible to be one with nature in such a crowded and busy city. The souvenirs and the food options at the garden bring a lot to the Japanese culture because it helps share the knowledge about the culture of Japanese parks and help to maintain the Golden Gate Park’s authenticity.
Haight Street
Haight Street is the place to visit if you want to buy some vintage clothes, especially make sure to stop at the Decades of Fashion vintage store. The owners collect many different clothes from all the decades of the US. So if you want to buy some vintage dresses or shirts, this is the place to go.
One thing to keep in mind is that Haight Street is the hippie street, so there are many homeless wannabe hippies hanging around, but they are not aggressive, so there are usually no issues.
Union Square + Chinatown
Although It is filled with shops, Union Square is beautiful. Sometimes there are art shows and other activities on the plaza, like a huge Christmas tree or ice skating rings in the open. But keep walking until you reach the Dragon’s Gate, there you will find the entrance to the Chinatown.
The San Francisco Chinatown is the oldest one in the US. Make sure to be hungry before going to Chinatown because there is delicious food to pick up here. But before you stuff yourself with all the fantastic goodies, first, you must visit the Fortune Cookie Factory. The tour around the factory is free and see how the factory produces its 10 000 cookies every day.
Now, you are ready to eat until you burst. While you are in Chinatown, make sure to eat at Golden Gate bakery. They have so many amazing sweet and savory food, and you will want to go back every day to try something new off their menu.
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About The Author: Stella is an illustrator, a lifestyle blogger, and a travel enthusiast. She is very passionate about the environment and living in balance with nature. Stella loves giving tips about healthy lifestyles and self-development. She is a contributor to several health and lifestyle blogs. You can find more about her writing by following her on Twitter @StellaGreenTho1
